AUTHORS and illustrators will take part in hundreds of free events across the country at Scotland's fourth national celebration of books and reading.

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Diana Gabaldon and Val McDermid will make appearances at Book Week Scotland

TOP writers including Val McDermid , Diana Gabaldon , Michel Faber and Kate Mosse will make appearances during Scotland's fourth national celebration of books and reading, organisers have announced.

Hundreds of free events will take place across the country during Book Week Scotland 2015 which runs from November 23 to 29.

More than 300,000 free books will also be given away during the event, which this year is centred around the theme of transformation.

Authors and illustrators will visit libraries in every local authority, with appearances by the likes of Diana Gabaldon, Kate Mosse, AL Kennedy, Michel Faber, Val McDermid, Arne Dahl and The Girl on a Train author Paula Hawkins.

In some of the first big announcements, Outlander author Diana Gabaldon will be in conversation with Neil Oliver at Stirling Castle's Great Hall on November 23, while Kate Mosse will be speaking at a free event at Glasgow’s Sauchehall Street branch of Waterstones on the same evening.

The Girl On The Train author Paula Hawkins is visiting the Almondbank Library in Livingstone on Wednesday, November 25 and Edinburgh West End Waterstones the following night.

Mark Millar, author of Kick Ass and Kingsman, will also talk about From Coatbridge to Hollywood at Wishaw Library on November 25.

Meanwhile, on November 29, a screening of Under The Skin introduced by Michel Faber will take place at 3.15pm at Edinburgh Filmhouse and An Evening With Brian Blessed will be followed by a screening of Flash Gordon at 4pm, on the same day at the Glasgow Film Theatre.

As part of the theme of transformation a new campaign called £ThankBooks will be launched, encouraging members of the public to share how books or people from the world of books have inspired them or changed their life.

Celebrities and authors such as Alan Cumming, Ian Rankin , Louis De Bernieres, Andy McNab and Greg Proops will also reveal their own £ThankBooks.

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, which delivers the week, said: "The huge personal benefits in health and wellbeing that flow from spending just a short time each day lost within a book are now widely documented and understood.

"But it seems that people still remain to be convinced. Can a book really transform the way we feel? Can it lighten your mood, ensure a better night's sleep, steal away loneliness?

2015 Getty Images

Diana Gabaldon wrote the hit Outlander series

"This year we are challenging Scots from all walks of life to try this miracle cure out for themselves - and to share their stories and results with us in a celebration of all the things books and reading can do.

"This challenge sits at the centre of Book Week Scotland, but the full programme is many and varied, and offers something for everyone on a national basis."

There will also be appearances by the likes of Brian Blessed and Cathy Rentzenbrink in unusual locations across the country.

During the week, 150,000 free copies of a short story and poem collection written by ordinary Scottish people, Journeys, will be handed out via libraries, bookshops and other outlets.

In addition to this three free picture books, comprising the shortlist for the Scottish Children's Book Awards 2016, will be gifted to every Primary 1 pupil in Scotland.

Organisations across Scotland will also be encouraged and supported to transform neglected areas of their office into a dedicated reading area, where staff can retreat to enjoy some relaxation and escapism with a good book.

To round off the week Scottish Book Trust will reveal the most shareable quote from a book. Word lovers can choose from a shortlist of 40 quotes when voting opens on Tuesday.

The top three quotes that people would most like to share with their friends will be revealed on November 26.

Initiated by the Scottish Government and supported, along with a Readers in Residence programme in libraries, by £250,000 from Creative Scotland, Book Week Scotland will be delivered by Scottish Book Trust.

Book Week Scotland in libraries is funded by The Scottish Library and Information Council.